2020, Year of Fitness (Thanks to Women!)

In 2020, women contributed to an unprecedented fitness boom as they took to running, cycling, and walking.

“We’ve seen a real boost from women in terms of overall activity levels during the pandemic year,” says Simon Klima, director of international marketing at Strava, the world’s biggest online fitness platform. The growth that occurred “was nothing like we’ve seen before and far surpassed our projections based on historical trends.”

With its 1.1 billion activities uploaded and 72 million users, Strava is able to say that the number of runs and rides have almost doubled compared with last year. As for the walks, their numbers have tripled. Thirteen percent of Britain’s population uses Strava, and there was an increase of 108% in the median number of activities done by women aged 18 to 29.

Outdoor activities seem to have replaced gym classes during the pandemic, and since people now work from home in greater numbers, they have better control over their calendars. In 2020, the “moving time” of Strava’s users showed an increase of 14.7%.